Friend From A Memory
by littledance
Summary: After an accident destroying her life long dream, Yuki Hashimoto moves to Japan from Australia. Struggling to adapt, she's overjoyed when she discovers her once close friend Rin lived nearby. When she realizes he's forgotten her, Yuki has finally found a new purpose: getting revenge on Rin through swimming. But thats hard for her, seeing as she still has feelings for him. Free! ES
1. Chapter 1

"Yuki, we need to talk."

Yuki looked up from her book to see her father standing in front of her. She was sitting crosslegged on their leather couch, her dark blue sandals resting on the old and scruffy carpet for everyone to trip over. The sun was setting behind some buildings and the air was slowly cooling. In the distance of her neighbourhood, she could hear a dog barking.

"Yeah?"

He sat down next to her and rested his hand on her shoulder, brushing her chocolate hair aside. His breath shook nervously, yet his face remained calm.

"I got a job offer. It's a really nice office job and the pay is a lot better than the one I'm getting now."

"What's the catch?" Yuki inquired, her thick Australian accent piercing through each word.

"Well," He began, "It's back in Japan."

"What?"

He took a deep breath.

"We have a few options here, and I want your honest opinion. I could decline the offer and stay here or-"

"Or we all move to Japan." She said as she dropped her book on the coffee table, "Dad, I have the show. Mrs. Li really thinks I could get a scholarship after the performance! And on top of that, my Japanese is pretty rusty now."

"Honey, you didn't let me finish." Her father suddenly interrupted her, "Or I go alone."

Yuki frowned, the thought of being countries away from her dad concerned her. She didn't want to go but Yuki didn't want to feel like she was forcing him to stay. She was torn.

"What did mum say?"

"She was willing to move. She'd be closer to her family and the company she works for could have her transferred to their office in Japan."

"So, now," she murmured, "It's only me who's holding you back."

"Don't say that! I'd be fine staying here. Just... Think about it Honey."

Yuki sighed and nodded. She slipped her sandals back on and walked out into the garden.  
She'd talk to Rin about it, if he would answer her emails or pick up her calls. He hadn't responded since he left and Yuki was giving up hope.

Yuki pulled a little note with a black scribble on it from the back pocket of her shorts and punched the number into her cell phone. She paced around on the rough gravel path before groaning and shoving her phone and the note back into her pocket. No reply, again. Why did he even give her his number if he wasn't even going to reply? The timezone difference wasn't an issue as it was late evening in Sydney and Japan was only 2 hours behind.

She hoped he was alright.

* * *

"Yuu."

Yuki stopped swinging on the swings of the primary school's playground and looked at the red headed boy sitting on the other one. It was a sunny evening in early July and Rin had just picked her up from ballet practice. Each Saturday they would meet up after their respective sport's practices and head to this park together, chatting about life and just joking about. But lately, Rin started being more distant and cancelling the Saturdays Yuki held so dear.

"Yup?"

Rin rocked from side to side. His hair bouncing into his well-structured face every now and then. He had the kind of face that made you think he was a lot older than 15. His defined jawline reminded Yuki of those of a movie star. Rin could've easily been one, based on his looks. He was incredibly handsome, it wasn't a surprise all the girls at school made such a fuss about him.

"I'm going back to Japan."

Those words hit Yuki like tiny bullets to her chest. In fact, she had to stop herself from falling of the swing in shock. Her hands clenched together as she turned her head away.

"Oh, I'm happy for you I guess. I'll miss you a lot though Rin."

Her words of happiness were forced as all she wanted to say was: "Stay here."

"When are you going?" She spat, trying not to sound desperate.

"This summer. I- I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner."

"That's-" Yuki spluttered as she stood up and took a step towards Rin, "That's in less than a month!"

Rin looked away, avoiding all eye-contact with the tall brunette. He felt guilt stabbing into his chest. All his thoughts were drowned out as Yuki asked the one question he was praying she wouldn't:

"When will I see you again?"

Rin didn't answer, as all the responses he was formulating in his head seemed worthless and confusing. Silence filled their surroundings like an unwelcome guest, making the closest of friends seeming more distant than ever. She dropped her pride and threw herself into his arms, taking both of them by surprise. Yuki buried her face in his neck as he wrapped his arms around her back. She shut her eyes and pressed her lips together. As they slowly pulled apart, the girl could feel unwanted tears filling her eyes.

"I- I have to go. And don't worry, you'll do fine in Japan." Yuki excused herself, trying her best not to sound sarcastic and turned to exit the playground, but Rin called after her.

"Wait." He hissed, "Take this. I'll call."

He pushed a crinkled up note into the pocket of Yuki's hoodie before walking out of the park in the opposite direction. The news had hit her far too fast, far too soon. She wanted to talk about it more with him as this exchange had only been a few minutes, but she was also glad he walked off as now she could express her true feelings. Yuki stood their idly, watching him walk away. And as he left, she cried.

"Please don't go... I love you." She whispered helplessly after him, knowing he neither heard nor knew.

* * *

It was a usual sunny afternoon in Sydney, about 6 or 7 months after Yuki's best friend went back to Japan. Every possible limb that could possibly hurt ached after a long afternoon of ballet training. Her trainer, Mrs. Li, had stopped her after class briefly to praise her work in class. Nothing out of the ordinary as Yuki was used to praise.

"Hey Yuki, we're getting ice cream. Coming?" A fellow dancer named Laura called out to her after practice.

Yuki thought for a second before shaking her head.

"You guys go ahead. I'm supposed to be on a strict diet." She smiled softly, "I'll see you later."

Laura chuckled and waved her off.

"Oh screw you and how serious you are. I'll send you pictures of us eating."

Yuki rolled her eyes and kept walking. It was true, she was very serious about being in optimal strength and condition to dance; to the point of her ignoring the troubling pain she had been suffering in her knees. Yuki couldn't afford any injuries, ballet consumed most of her life. She didn't even go to school all day, the ballerina always left at noon to make it in time for practice.

She plugged her headphones in and listened to the music for her routine to distract her. In her head, she went through the steps.

Arabesque... Developé...Step, step...

TRUCK

Truck?

Yuki was so focused on internally rehearsing steps, she walked straight into the busy road. For a single moment in time, the whole world around her stopped. All the city noises she knew and loved faded, her sight blurred and distorted. The last thing she remembers with clarity was the feeling of hitting the concrete with her hip with heavy force.

The next thing was hearing the loud wailing of an ambulance.


	2. Chapter 2

Yuki stared down at the yellow and green themed hallway of Iwatobi High School. Everything felt much colder, much lonelier here than it did in Sydney. Although the colours were bright and vibrant, everything felt...bleak.

She was still getting used to walking on two legs again. It had taken her the whole spring and the whole summer to recover from the car accident. At least she had spent most of that time in Physical Therapy swimming. Her stomach muscles had never looked better, ignoring the ugly scar streaking across her hip. Isaka Hajime, the girl she liked to consider her first friend here at Iwatobi, had told her there was a swim club, but Yuki had no interest being the only girl swimming there. Isa told her they were all presumably gay, but even so she didn't really feel like it.

Yuki didn't really feel like doing anything lately. Her parents were getting more and more worried, ignoring the fact she kept telling them repeatedly she was alright. Yuki wasn't alright, to be completely honest. She was in a country she barely knew, speaking a language she barely spoke (although she did spend all her time in the hospital bed learning more japanese) and she was far away from Sydney, her home. Her friends. Her life.

"Hashimoto!"

Yuki snapped her head to the side to see the tiny Isaka tugging at her sleeve.

"I said, you can call me Yuki." She said as she gave Isa a patient smile.

"Fine, fine. Yuki!" The small blonde squeaked, still manhandling the taller girl's sleeve.

"Yes?" She beckoned, "What's up?"

"Can we have lunch together again today? I got my mom to make a bit more of that dango with the sauce you liked." Isa grinned and finally let go of Yuki's sleeve, "You can have some if you want."

Yuki smiled again and nodded. Isaka was incredibly kind and generous. She was the kind of person who would give the contents of her purse to somebody who should ask for a tissue. However, due to her slightly puppy-like personality, her circle of friends was relatively small. Yuki felt awfully sorry for Isaka, seeing how lovely she was.

The two of them headed up to the rooftop, where a few boys sat bunched up in a corner. One of them seemed familiar to Yuki, for some reason. His stoic expression and eyes...clear as...water?

Rin. This must be the friend Rin was always prattling on about.

It couldn't be. She had heard of crazy coincidences before, but this was just plain unrealistic. She was almost sure they lived in a town called Iwata, however could it be that she misheard...?

The boy was conversing with a tall brown haired boy with the most gorgeous meadow green eyes Yuki had ever seen. Sitting only inches apart was a small blond boy laying across the lap of an elegant boy with bright red glasses.

"Swim club." Isa whispered, obviously having noticed Yuki's stares.

Yuki nodded, finally understanding Isaka's comments from earlier. Once they had seated themselves in the opposite corner, Yuki opened her lunchbox and took a bite of her cheese sandwich.

"Who's that one, you know, the one with the blue eyes?" She inquired, trying her best not to stare again.

Isaka jokingly swooned, bumping into Yuki playfully (causing her sandwich to fall onto her lap, but she didn't mind).

"That's Nanase Haruka. He's so adorable! I would make out with his face, well if he was interested in girls that is."

Haruka...

"Why do you ask?"

"Well, uh," Yuki mumbled, "It's a long story."

"I have time."

Yuki finished her sandwich and shut her lunchbox.

"It sounds crazy, but I had a friend in Australia who knew that guy."

Isa gasped and started tugging her sleeve excitedly again. Her own navy lunchbox went flying sending rice flying in all directions. After a quick mumbled apology, Isaka put her lunchbox aside bashfully and Yuki told her about Rin. She wondered whether or not to mention her massive crush on him. Luckily, or rather unluckily, Isaka responded by attempting to drag her over to Haru. After convincing her friend not to embarrass Yuki, Isa mentioned that there was a girl who's brother lived in Australia.

"Her name is Gou- well she prefers to go by Kou. She should be in classroom 2B. Maybe her brother knew Nanase as well?" She chirped as she handed Yuki a small piece of dango, "If you want you can quickly track her down. In the meantime I'll go bother one of the swim guys. He's in my class and I can see he has candy so..."

Yuki laughed and nodded.

"Just don't mention what I told you, ok?"

She gave Isaka a quick friendly hug before grabbing her lunch box and scurrying downstairs.

Yuki followed the long corridor until she reached the classroom 2B. There weren't many people inside the class. In the middle of the class, two girls were sitting at a desk and sharing their lunch. Yuki couldn't help but feel a small sting of jealously at their friendship, but her thoughts were overruled by the fact one of them had bright red hair. Just like Rin. Yuki approached the table shyly.

"Excuse me, are you Kou?"

The girl looked up at her with dark maroon eyes. Definietly Rin related, Yuki thought to herself.

"Yes?" The girl said, grinning politely. Never mind, not related at all.

"Ah, well you see, my friend told me that your brother lived in Australia?" The brunette began, nervousness pooling up in her stomach, "I'm Australian. I know its random, but who knows, maybe due to some strange coincidence we've met."

"Well, it would be fantastic if you did! My brother barely ever talks about Australia." Gou explained, "He only tells me about the training and stuff. He's a swimmer, you see."

"Oh? What's his name?"

"Matsuoka Rin." She replied, "He seemed so unhappy when he returned, saying everything that happened there was a mistake."

Yuki felt like she'd been hit by a truck again.

"Did he talk about any friends or something...?"

Gou thought for a second, before shaking her head.

"I don't think I know the guy, sorry. Thanks anyway." Yuki replied flatly, her chest sinking.

As she left the classroom, feelings of anger and sadness filled her mind.

He forgot her.

Did he think their friendship was a mistake too? Was the time she spent comforting him in Japanese because he didn't understand English a mistake? Or maybe the times they spent eating lunch with each other were stupid as well. Yuki felt disgusting and selfish, feeling so angry about this, but most of all she felt hurt.

Yuki stormed back upstairs and put her happy face back on. Isaka was carrying their lunch things in her arms and was talking with the swim dudes. The small blonde had multiple pieces of candy stuffed in her mouth as waved at Yuki, calling her over.

"Isaka, what-?"

Yuki reluctantly dragged herself over.

"This is the new kid. Ya know, the Australian?" The girl announced to the 4 boys.

"Isa-"

The brown haired boy smiled.

"Hello, Hashimoto-san. I'm Makoto Tachibana, captain of the swim team." He said, his voice soft and sweet, "Isaka told us you swim?"

Yuki nodded shyly, suddenly feeling like a giddy schoolgirl around the muscly boy.

"Are you going to join the swim team, Yuki-chan?" The blonde boy with the candy suddenly chirped.

Chan. She hadn't heard that honorific in ages.

"I- I don't know."

He pouted and thrust the candy bag in her direction.

"We'll give you this candy if you join!"

"Nagisa!" The boy with the red glasses suddenly spoke up.

It was obvious they were close. The boy had some power over Nagisa, as he quieted down and returned to laying across the boy's lap.

"Let us know if you change your mind." Makoto said, flashing Yuki a bright smile, "We could always use some new members."

Man, that boy was hot. She might have even made a move, if Haru wasn't giving her evils, obviously indicating that Makoto was off limits.

"I'll think about it."

Yuki got on the train home and sat on the seat next to the door. The carriage was mainly full and passengers getting on after her would have to stand. It was strange for her to go home by train, as her school used to be in walking distance from home. She guessed it wasn't too terrible, she did occaisionally see the swim team huddled in the end of the carriage. Not today, however. Amidst all the people on the platform pushing to get in, Yuki did recognize a different familiar face. A tall boy about her age with bright red hair squeezed his way through and stood a few places down.

She couldn't believe it. Was it really him?

Yuki knew that he moved to Japan, and since he saw his sister in class, he couldn't have lived far away. But she wasn't expecting the boy she went to school with in Sydney to turn up on her usual train.

Yuki pondered about approaching him, but then she remembered her conversation with Gou earlier today.

He forgot her.

She was one of his only friends in Australia and he never mentioned her. Yuki was insulted. Insulted that her close friend, and the boy she had a crush on, had completely forgotten to mention her!

No, they next time they would speak would be at swim tournaments.

Yes, Yuki thought to herself, I will join the swim team just to kick his ass!

The train was coming closer to her stop, so she stood up and made her way to the door. She thought about walking in front in Rin just to make a point, but she decided not to. This was it. She couldn't wait to surprise him at the swim meets, making him feel guilty and-

Yuki was standing outside already. That little shit didn't notice her. He even looked her in the face briefly but then went back to his phone.

She was gonna crush him at swim meets.


	3. Chapter 3

Yuki's parents were forcing her to speak Japanese at home, although she protested heavily. It was bad enough that fellow students giggled at her mistakes, but now she would have her parents on her ass like the grammar police?

Great.

"Hi Mum-" She yelled, in English, as she entered through the door of their apartment.

Yuki hated their apartment. It was small, cramped and didn't even have a balcony or a garden. Her Mother tried to convince her it was cosy, but she didn't seem so sure herself.

"Not 'Mum'!"

The browned haired girl sighed and rolled her eyes before responding in Japanese. Her Mother was born in Japan and spoke to her in her native language when Yuki was just a small girl. But over time English became her daughter's more prominent language.

After taking off her shoes, Yuki joined her mother in the tiny kitchen. She slid across the linoleum floor in her woolen socks, causing her to bump into the door frame.

"How was your day? Make any new friends?"

"Good and no." Yuki responded blankly as she sat at their small white ikea table, "And yes, I did look at the club listings. None of them interest me, except maybe swimming."

Yuki's mothers face lit up. It was obvious that she was happy that Yuki might've found an activity to partake in. Ever since Yuki quit ballet, she was lulling around at home being more miserable than usual. Her parents trued to push her into joining a club, but their daughter always refused, insisting she was fine the way she was.

"That sounds great! Do I need to buy you a new swimsuit? What about goggles?-"

"Mum, I haven't even joined yet." Yuki said, "I just thought it was cool. Maybe I'll speak to the guys on the swim team- that's all. I don't even think there's a girl's team anyway."

Her mother crammed herself next to Yuki.

"Maybe you'll run into that friend of yours? You know, the swimmer. What a weird guy that was! I felt sorry for the chap, always seemed miserable."

Yuki sighed and looked away.

"Anyway." Her mother added, obviously realizing that the topic of Rin was still a bit sensitive, "What do you want for dinner?"

"I don't know." Her daughter mumbled, switching to english sleepily, "Can you put the kettle on? I'd really like some tea."

"Yes, I can put it on." Yuki's mum corrected her in her elegant japanese.

Yuki admired the way her mother spoke japanese. It was smooth and light to the ear. Sometimes she'd roll her R's in a very sweet way. Her mum was a very sweet woman- Dark, almost ebony coloured hair that barely reached past her shoulders, coffee brown eyes that seemed to swirl if you stared into them long enough and a small, round face with small freckles dancing across the bridge of her nose. Yuki wished she had her mothers features sometimes.

"Thanks."

Yuki woke up again in her small, colourless bedroom. The baby blue curtains that reminded her of home seemed bland and cold, the carpet she loved so worn and tattered. She could already tell it was going to be a long day. She was even wondering if she should bother trying to join the swim club or not. Sure, revenge against a neglectful friend is fun, but is it really worth all the trouble?

No, enough backing out of things. She was going to try and join today.

Her mother insisted that she should let Yuki tie her hair into a braid. Reluctantly, Yuki gave in.

Yuki dressed herself in the Iwatobi 3rd year's uniform and plugged her headphones in. After kissing her mother on the cheek quickly, Yuki made her way to the train stop. She squeezed herself onto the vehicle and managed to grab a seat right next to the door. Two stops later, Isaka hopped onto the train as well and spotted Yuki right away.

"Good morning Isaka."

"Heeeeey Yuki," the blonde chirped, "What's new?"

"Not much. Can I copy your geography homework? I was a bit loaded yesterday."

Isaka nodded and rummaged through her pale pink schoolbag before pulling out a green notebook. Yuki took it and placed it in her own navy bag.

"So what did you think of the swim team? They're cool aren't they! I hang out with them a lot, mainly because I know Nagisa and such but-"

"They seemed nice." Yuki interrupted her ramble, "Hey, is there a girl's swim team by any chance?"

Isaka shook her head sadly.

"No, but I'm sure they'd let you join the team. Although you wouldn't really be able to participate in tournaments I guess..."

"What if you joined with me?"

Surprised, Isaka pondered a moment. Her small frame might be a disadvantage, but she was rather athletic. It didn't really matter to Yuki if they won any tournaments, all she wanted to do was to beat Rin. Or at least swim against him.

"Me? Well, I'm not sure..."

Yuki smiled, nodding reassuringly.

"I think it could be fun."

"I'll think about it."

The two girls continued chatting until their stop rolled up. As they exited the train, Isaka suddenly chirped up again.

"I've thought about it."

"About what?" Yuki inquired.

"Asking about the swim team!"

Yuki couldn't help letting out a small giggle.

"It's only been 10 minutes."

"I know." Isaka announced, "And I think we should ask!"

Yuki gave her a confused look.

"Are you sure?"

The small blonde nodded cheerfully and insisted they go and ask first thing. Moments later Yuki's phone let out a small ping.

"Who's it from?" Isa inquired as Yuki read the screen, scowling slightly every few seconds.

"Just my mother. Hey, can you tell me what this is?"

Yuki pointed at a small kanji figure.

"It means appointment. She says, 'don't forget your physical therapy appointment after school'. Why do you need physical therapy?"

Yuki bit the inside of her cheek as she came up with a lie. She desperately didn't want anyone to know of her accident last year. She desperately didn't want to be reminded of the life she left behind. She didn't want to remember the pain of living away from the place where she mattered.

Here she was nothing.

"Sports injury to my... Knee. It's pretty much all gone now."

Well, she wasn't wrong.

"Ah, so that's why you've missed some P.E?"

Yuki nodded, turning her head to the side.

"Anyway. Weren't we heading to the swim club?"


	4. Chapter 4

"You guys wanna join the swim club? Right now?"

Yuki nodded bleakly as Isaka stood proudly in front of the swim team captain.

"Ehh? That's great!" Nagisa chirped as he circled the two girls standing in the middle of the hall.

"Well, yeah! We wanna swim as well! We don't really care about tournaments."

Yuki interjected.

"Although we would like to come along and swim in practice matches or something." She added, "Even if it is swimming against guys."

Makoto cocked his head slightly before turning to Haru who had been standing behind him the whole time. The black haired boy just shrugged.

"If they wanna swim with us that's ok. Let them join if they want to."

"Alright ladies." Makoto announced before shoving some paper into their hands, "Fill this out by tomorrow. Are you guys sure you don't care about tournaments or anything? I mean, if you really wanted to swim you could join a local gym."

Yuki shook her head.

"You did invite us the other day, but also yiu guys seem like you really know your stuff. Maybe you could teach us a thing or two? Who knows, we might even assemble a small girls team?"

Lies.

"Really? Well then, for the time being you're welcome to join. We do have a joint practice coming up, feel free to come along."

Isaka bounced up and down happily before tugging onto Yuki's sleeve.

"Great!" She sang, "So when's practice?"

Yuki couldn't concentrate on anything but Rin during class. She was inching closer to her goal every second and it excited her. It scared her immensely; especially seeing him after all this time, but all she wanted to do was confront him.

There was going to be a practice match, and she knew exactly who against.

Once the final school bell rang, she stuffed all her papers into her backpack and slipped her way through the corridor and out the door. The warm late-summer air surrounded as she marched on to the bus stop. On the bus ride to the physical therapist, Yuki pulled her green bow off of her chest and placed it neatly into her pocket. She wasn't the biggest fan of the school's uniform, as she despised the yellow woollen vest the girls wore. But the bow was her worst nightmare. She could never tie it straight without having to ask her mother for help.

Once Yuki got off the bus, she passed the local swimming pool, the ITSC Returns. What a dumb name, she thought to herself. Just as she was walking past the doors, a tall boy in a hat and a dark coat pushed past her.

"H-hey! Watch it!" She hissed angrily as she moved back swiftly.

The boy didn't even give her a second glance before he turned away and down the road Yuki was heading on.

"Asshole."

Yuki finally arrived at the physical therapy studio just on the outskirts of Iwatobi. After signing in with the receptionist, she made her way to the small waiting room. To her horror the rude boy from earlier was sitting next to the only free seat. With a scowl, Yuki sat down and dropped her schoolbag on the floor. After a few minutes a nurse walked through the door and called out a name.

"Yamazaki Sousuke?"

The boy gave off a small grunt before standing up and following the lady who was tapping a pen on her clipboard. Immediately after he left the waiting room, Yuki's head suddenly snapped to the door. Yamazaki... Sousuke?

Why did that name feel so familiar? It was almost as if it was burned into her mind. But Yuki frowned as she couldn't remember why she was so frustrated at her lack of memory. She mouthed the name a couple of times, but to no avail. Patients started giving her confused glances so she sat up straight again until her name was called.

Yuki sat down on the bed whilst her therapist Dr. Tetsurou closed the door behind them.

"Good afternoon Yuki. How are you doing?"

"Fine, thank you." Yuki mumbled as she pulled her shirt off and lowered her skirt after neatly placing her clothes on the allocated shelf for it.

Dr. Tetsurou carefully removed the blue kinesio tape from her hip and left knee before tossing them into the nearby trashcan. Yuki hated the tape, but she had been idle so long her muscles had become weak.

"Looking better. I'll replace your bandages and I'll hand you over to Hideki, who'll take you to the gym upstairs." She announced as she fumbled for new tape, "The scar and bruise is looking a lot less angry, don't forget to apply cream. Any pain recently?"

"Only when I run. Otherwise, I'm alright."

"Your crash was in March, correct?"

Yuki nodded. March 24th to be exact.

"Yes. I had the first surgery around May."

"You've come a long way Yuki. Breaking a hip and tearing your lateral collateral ligament along with some other things isn't very pleasant. I'm happy to see your improvement."

After having her tape replaced, Yuki thanked Dr. Tesurou and followed her younger assistant Hideki Izumi up to the gym area.

"Hey there Yuki." He grinned as he gave her a polite bow.

Hideki was a charismatic man with coffee brown hair and a small stubbly beard. He sometimes brought his small daughter Sakura into work and she would sit by the mats and tell patients jokes. Yuki felt the physical therapy office here was much less strict than the one she visited in Sydney.

"Hello Izumi-san."

Yuki quickly changed into her gym clothes and headed over to the mats. She could see the boy from earlier training his shoulder with an older nurse.

After about 45 minutes of doing different exercises, Hideki handed her a slip of paper with the excises she should do and how long to do them for. Once she thanked him, Yuki didn't bother changing clothes and turned to head straight home.

"Hashimoto, Hajime."

Yuki turned her head to see Haruka standing by the door of her classroom at lunch the next day.

"Hi Nanase~" Isaka chirped, resting her chin in her hands like a love struck dreamer.

He slid a piece of paper onto Yuki's desk, his face remaining blank and expressionless. She reached over to the paper and scanned the writing. Confused, she turned to Isaka, who kindly explained some of the kanji on the sheet.

"We have a joint practice on Saturday. Feel free to come." Haru added, "Iwatobi station bus stop around 10."

"Ok!"

Haru left as swiftly and quietly as he entered. The two girls stared after him before turning to the crumpled up paper.

"Sa-me-zu-ka... Am I saying that right?"

Isa nodded as she entered the date into her lilac school journal, which she had clutched in her hand.

"I'll need to get a new swimsuit." She mumbled as she walked to the door of Yuki's classroom, "Hey! Let's go shopping later!"

Yuki stared over at the doorframe.

"Oh, ok. I'll let my mum know."

Isaka bounced out of the door and headed back to her own classroom, only seconds before the sound of the school bell filled their ears.

On seconds after the bell rang, a tall girl with dark black hair clicked her tongue dismissively. Yuki snapped her head towards the girl.

"So this is the girl's swim team huh? A puppy and a mysterious transfer student." She hissed condescendingly, "And you can't even participate in tournaments. Interesting."

"What's your issue?"

The girl rolled her eyes and pulled her books out of her backpack. Yuki caught a glance at her desk, which was labelled 'Takara Mei'. Unfortunately, she sat right beside Yuki and had never given her more than a dissaproving glance every now and then.

"If you've really joined to swim and not to hang out with the guys, I'd suggest you look for members first. But that's just my opinion."

"Yeah, well nobody asked for it."

Yuki's brash rudeness was returned with glares from her classmates before they each sat back at their desks to start the lesson.

"I don't know how it is where YOU'RE from, but here we tend not to try and get on peoples bad sides." The girl whispered to her.

The fact that she emphasized 'you're' made Yuki clench her teeth angrily.

"Why do you care?"

She sighed and folded her arms.

"My... friend, she's a first year, wants to join a swim team."

Yuki raised her eyebrows before pressing her lips together.

"So this conversation was to butter me up? Unbelievable."

"No." The black haired girl hushed, "I wanted to find out if you guys are even going to swim or just ogle at the swimmers."

"Fuck off. We joined so we can swim."

"Takara, Hashimoto, you should have chatted during lunch." The teacher barked, as neither of the girls had noticed that he had already begun the lesson, "Quiet down girls."

"Apologies Sensei." Takara spoke in a loud and clear voice.

"Sorry."

"Are you almost done Isa? I have to be home by five." Yuki mumbled, standing outside of the changing booths.

"Almost, almost!" A muffled sound conveyed, "How 'bout you go check out some swim stuff in the meantime?"

"Fine. I'll be right back then."

Yuki dragged herself over to the swimwear aisle, more specifically, the swimming goggles section. Her hand scanned through the products until someone bumped into her.

"Shit-!"

"Ah! I'm so sorry miss!" A shorter grey-haired boy frantically stuttered.

The brunette stared down at him, unblinking. He was wearing a school uniform labelled 'Samezuka Academy'.

"Don't worry abou- Hey wait, you're from Samezuka?"

"Ai, what the hell is taking so long?" A gruff voice boomed.

Both of them turned to the end of the aisle, where a tall redhead stood with his arms folded. Beside him, a smaller, more cheerful ginger. Yuki froze as the grey haired boy bounced over to him.

"I'm sorry! I got what I needed, I was just hurrying so much that I crashed into the lady there and I knocked some things down and-"

"Hey, hey!" The ginger sang, pushing past the panicky boy and straight up to Yuki, "You're buying swim-goggles? So do you swim?"

Yuki remained silent, as only then had she and the red haired boy locked eyes.

 _Rin._

"Holy shit, Yuu! Is that you?"

Why did he use her nickname?

"Yeah! I can't beli- I mean. Hi." She began in English, first overcome with joy but then realizing her original goal.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, obviously oblivious of her anger towards him, "Are you on holiday or something?"

"Nah. I live on the outskirts of town." Yuki delivered, unfazed, "I go to Iwatobi High now."

Rin frowned a little, before opening his mouth slightly, but closing it again.

"Well, nice seeing you. I gotta get back to my friend now."

"What?" He spat, "Already? We only just saw each other again after 2 years!"

"So? It's not like its important to get emotional about. You'd know." She added before turning away, "See you on Saturday."

"Huh?-"

Yuki couldn't deny, she felt a mixture of badassery and guilt walking away. On one hand, she was over the moon to see Rin again. On the other, she was mad that they had run into each other here and not at the meet, as now her plan was foiled.

Whatever, she thought to herself, I'll just kick his ass twice as hard on Saturday.


	5. Chapter 5

"Takara-senpai! Please wait for me!"

Mei turned around to see a smaller girl shuffling down the hall way towards her.

"Kotoko."

The girl squealed at the 3rd year using her first name.

"Let's head home." Mei announced as she tugged Kotoko aside, "After all, I have some things to talk to you about."

"O-ok!"

The small 1st year adjusted her black rimmed glasses before skipping aside Mei. Kotoko had a small, rounded face with cheeks that were often crossed with a blush. Her big eyes were almond shaped and olive green, unlike Mei's, whose were narrow and dark.

Kotoko was young and naive, turning to Mei, the cool senior living on her street, for guidance and support. Mei wasn't used to having a kouhai, relentlessly turning her away at the beginning. Eyes stained with tears, Kotoko did not give up. She was still a crybaby.

"There's a girl's swim team in school now. Actually, they're short two members for a real team."

"Yeah?" Kotoko replied, "How did you find out?"

Mei opened the school doors and let Kotoko pass through first. The two of them walked down a lone path by the sea. Their homes were both in walking distance, as they had discovered on Kotoko's first day at Iwatobi high. The cold air blew a salty breeze, blowing light chestnut coloured locks into the younger girl's face.

"The... 'captain' sits next to me in class." She mentioned, "Australian transfer student. Thinks she runs this place."

"Oh?"

Mei shook her head dismissively. Kotoko paused, stopping softly. The senior noticed the silhouette next to her had fallen behind and likewise, pulled back.

"Don't bother, Kotoko."

Kotoko looked down, disappointed. The taller girl frowned, feeling slightly guilty that she had let her kouhai down.

"Who's the other member?"

"This rowdy 2nd year." Mei responded, "She has a good heart but shes untrained. Pretty sure only hangs out with the Australian because no one else will have either of them."

"M-maybe, we can just watch them practice one time...just to see if...?" Kotoko stuttered nervously, "Or to s-show them up! That they can't swim...?"

Looking aside, Mei chuckled softly. They stopped at the door of Mei's house. She slid the door open and beckoned Kotoko inside.

"Fine, if thats what you want. But I warned you. I'm home!"

* * *

"Rin."

Rin unplugged his headphones to see Sousuke, probably his closest companion, leaning over the railings of the top bunk.

"You've been really quiet since you came home."

"So?" He replied quickly, "I'm just tired."

"Right." Sousuke said, unconvinced.

He climbed down the ladder and leaned on his untidy desk, sending a few papers to the floor.

"What happened when you guys went out after school?"

"What kinda question is that?!" Rin spluttered, "We went to the sports center and then came back."

Just at that moment, a shouty voice came from behind the door.

"Heeeeeeey! Can we come in?"

Sousuke sighed as he opened the door to see Momotarou and Aiichirou standing there.

"What do you guys want?"

"We're bored." Momo responded proudly.

Rin sat up and scanned the two underclassmen.

"Don't you two have any homework or something to do?"

"Well, yeah but I'll do it later." The small ginger announced.

"Whatever." Rin sighed, "I'm going for a quick run. See you guys later."

"Weren't you tired?" Sousuke added slyly, although not getting a response.

After Rin left, Sousuke turned to Aiichiro who could not hide the slight fear on his face.

"You." The black haired boy demanded, "What happened after school with Rin?"

"U-Uh w-well uhm-"

"We went shopping! And I started hitting on this girl but Rin totally cock-blocked me." Momo pouted.

Sousuke raised an eyebrow skeptically as Momo sat himself on Rin's bed. Ai continued to stand in the corner, equally terrified as he was before.

"Well," He spoke quietly, "I didn't understand them, but they seemed to know each other." Ai mumbled.

"You didn't understand them?"

"Yeah, neither did I! They were babbling some stuff in English or German or something."

"What are you doing?" Ai explained, annoyed, "Rin-senpai lived in Australia. I think this girl did too."

"Waaah!" Momo exclaimed, "D'ya think they know each other from there?"

"I don't know. Maybe? She didn't seem too happy to see him..."

Sousuke stayed silent the whole time, as most of the conversation did not interest him in the slightest. After a few more minutes of their babbling, he kicked the younger students out of his dorm.

A girl Rin had never mentioned. He couldn't lose him, not now he's got Rin for himself again.

Half an hour later Rin gingerly opened the door to their room and carefully crept inside. With the sleeve of his jacket he wiped small beads of sweat off of his forehead before stumbling onto his bed.

"How was your run?" Souske asked, leaning over the railing of the top bunk.

"It was fine, I think I saw two squirrels doing it under a bench."

Sousuke let out a low chuckle, wrapping his hands around the metal bars.

"So tell me, girl trouble?"

"What are you talking about?" Rin snapped back, pulling his sweater over his head, leaving a frizzy red blur behind.

"Momo and Ai told me."

"Oh damn it, Sou," He growled, "It's complicated. She's an old friend."

Sousuke grunted, laying back on his pillows again.

"Why'd she piss you off so much?"

"Just leave it. There's nothing to talk about."

* * *

"Hello Rin!"

The young boy looked up from his desk to see a tall girl with freckles sprinkled across her cheeks and the bridge of her nose. During break time he struggled with socializing, so he often sat by himself. To see a kind face was refreshing.

"Hi."

"My name is Yuki, nice to meet you! I've been out the past week so I haven't had a chance to say hello."

He squinted. Although her named seemed foreign, he couldn't detect even a hint of an accent.

"You come from Japan, right? That's where my mom is from." Yuki added, grinning happily.

"Do you speak Japanese?" Rin said, switching to his native language.

She nodded and sat on the corner of his desk.

"Not very well, though. My mom is always pushing me to improve. So where in Japan are you from, Rin?"

"Iwatobi, Totori."

"My family is from a small town in Miyagi. I don't remember much about living there though."

He smiled and nodded politely.

"So what brings you to Australia?"

* * *

"Hashimoto."

"Takara."

Mei and Yuki squared up, broadening their shoulders as they glared each other in the eyes. The black haired girl held assorted papers in her hands, facetiously picking out the bottom two and shoving them onto Yuki.

"These are swim club sign up sheets. As you can see, they lack our signature." Mei hissed, "We want to see what we're committing to."

"Fuck no. Take these papers, roll 'em into a tight lil wad and sho-"

"Please. I don't think you're in a position to be turning us down at this point. You need a minimum of four members for a real team, right? Now you guys are just in limbo."

"We joined the guys team."

"Do you seriously think the supervising teacher will stand for that shit? Be real, Takara. You need us."

Yuki grabbed her by the collar.

"What the fuck makes you say that?" She spat.

"Oh please.", Mei laughed, "There's some reason why you're so eager to join the swim team here. Are you gonna tell me?"

"No. There is no reason."

"Stop right there. Mysterious transfer student from afar immediately goes to join the swim club, even if it means going out of your way to create your own? I'm onto you."

Yuki trembled, letting go of her collar and walking away.

"Saturday, Iwatobi main station bus stop at 10. Be there or fuck off."

(A/N I wrote this chapter at 1 AM, please let me know if there are any inconsistencies or grammatical errors xD)


	6. Chapter 6

"Are you sure you can't make it? The ballet performance is only and hour and a half."

Rin shook his head, loosening his uniform tie as they walked.

"I have a important swim meet on Saturday, I'm already on the rocks with coach, Yuu."

"It's okay. I'll get my mum to video tape the performance." Yuki grinned and elbowed her redheaded friend, "Look at you, swimmer man. Can I be your trophy wife when you get to the olympics?"

"Oh, shut up."

* * *

"I can't believe its so warm for late August." Isaka groaned, jogging with her taller friend to the bus stop, "It's not even afternoon yet and I feel like I'm dying."

"Yeah."

Isaka stopped in her tracks suddenly, waiting for Yuki to do the same.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong. Can we please just go already? I don't want to be late."

The blonde stared her in the eyes, grabbing on to her sleeve.

"You know, I know that I can be annoying and stupid, but I know what's up." She spat, to Yuki's surprise.

"What?"

"It's all about this Australian boy isn't it. You don't care about swimming do you." She explained, "You're taking advantage of me, and that's not fair. My naive butt thought you actually wanted to do an activity with me, because of me."

"Where did this come from?" Yuki coughed back.

"It's all so obvious now! You'll do anything to get your way won't you? Give a friendless girl a friend so you can use her to reach your own goals."

"Oh shut up. You don't know anything."

"You're right! I don't! Because you don't tell me anything, Yuki!" Isaka yelled, "I give you my homework when you ask, I give you my friendship- but you still don't trust me?"

"What are you talking about? I'm nice to you, I talk to you, we're friends aren't we?" Yuki responded, "I don't see where you're getting this idea from."

"Are we friends? I seem to be the only one making an effort here. All I seem to be useful for is that you can achieve what you want. You don't give a damn about being friends, that's just a second hand benefit for you."

"What do you want from me, Isa? I want to join this club with you, is that not enough for you?" Yuki shouted back.

"Enough?!"

Silence broke between the two for a minute.

"Something changed Yuki. You've only been here a few weeks, yet you're still not acting like you were when you came. What-"

"I'm going home." Yuki growled, turning around again.

"Wait, no-"

For another moment it was quiet. At that moment, Yuki realized she may be wrong. She hadn't even realized herself that she was so determined in beating Rin, her only friend was cast to the sidelines.

"Fine. I'm not gonna chase after you anymore, Yuki."

"I'm sorry. I promise I'll tell you everything. Just, let's get through this first." Yuki whispered.

Isaka pressed her lips together, folding her arms.

"Fine. Let's hurry, we're already late."

* * *

By the time they arrived, the Iwatobi team had already left the bus station and messaged them to head straight to the school. Their bus ride there was in silence, both watching the buildings pass by to avoid speaking to each other.

When they arrived, the two of them squeezed into the visitor bathroom to change, as Samezuka had no female bathrooms.

As Yuki was getting changed, she pressed down the blue tape on her knee and quickly slipped into her black swimsuit.

"Why do you have a bandage there?"

Yuki pulled her sweatpants up as quickly as she could to avoid any other observances by her friend.

"I tore the ligament on my knee a while back- I mentioned it the other day."

"Right. Can you swim?" She responded, quietly.

"Yeah. I did a lot of swimming in physical therapy- for my knee."

Once again, not exactly a lie.

"Ready?" Yuki asked as she zipped up her sweater.

Isaka nodded, unlocking the stall and slipping out behind them, stuffing both their clothes and shoes into their respective bags. They both slid down the hallway, through the doors to the pool area, where Mei and her companion were waiting. The taller one look noticeably more irritated than usual times when she had to stare into her nemesis' face- she wrinkled her long nose at the sight of Yuki.

"Look who finally showed up."

"Fucking hell." Yuki growled, "Suck my a-"

"Hi I'm Isaka Hajime." She introduced herself to interrupt Yuki's pre-rant, "But please call me Isa! I hate when people say Hajime, it makes me sound like a boy!"

Yuki let out a small sigh of relief. Isaka was slowly going back to her normal, bubbly if-overwhelming self.

"My name is Arakawa, please just Kotoko is fine." The unfamiliar girl mumbled softly, almost hiding behind Mei.

"Nice to meet you." Yuki added politely, refusing to break eye-contact with Mei.

"So do you guys know how this is going to work? Are we going to get our own lane?" Kotoko chirped, unaware of the tensions between the two upperclassmen.

"Probably!" Isaka responded, as they all walked through another door to reach the swimming hall.

There must have been around 20 swimmers there, but even so the four girls stood out like sore thumbs at first- even with Isaka's shorter hair and flatter chest. Seeing the Iwatobi boys was a comforting view.

"Ah! You made it!" Makoto remarked as he saw them walk in their direction, "Just throw your bags over here."

"Thank you!" They expressed in unison- some more enthusiastically than others.

Kotoko pulled her glasses off and laid them by her bag as the other girls reluctantly removed their sweatpants and sweaters. Surprisingly, after a few stares, they practically were ignored by the swimmers, no longer bringing an all to strange attention to themselves.

In the distance, they could here a boy barking directions at another. Yuki tuned out of pleasantries with the Iwatobi boys to focus on her surroundings. She recognized a few faces from seeing at the sports center- but one face she was not expecting to see turned up very near to her. It was the face of a boy she had seen at the Physical Therapy office- the same one that had so rudely ran into her that one.

"Yuki." Makoto pulled her aside as the others got acquainted with one another, "You're the captain of the team right?"

"I guess. Temporarily, yes."

"Let me introduce you to the Samezuka captain, he'll tell you the plan for today."

"Oh," She answered as he lead her towards the other end of the pool, "Sure."

"Don't be nervous. He may look kinda scary, but he's a nice guy." The taller boy laughed as they webbed in between some students standing by the benches.

It was already too late when Yuki figured out who she'd be talking to. She tried to back out, but Makoto pushed her forward.

"Rin! Glad I caught you." Makoto chirped, giving him a friendly pat on the shoulder, "This is Hashimoto, kind-of captain of the girl's team...thing."

"Hi-" He began, only just turning his head after he began speaking, "Oh."

The two stared at each other in a silence which Makoto could only describe as 'Incredibly uncomfortable'.

"Uhm..." Makoto began awkwardly, "Should I-"

They both nodded their heads and the Iwatobi captain dragged himself away quietly.

"What are you doing here?" Rin asked, pulling her aside, "Why didn't you tell me you joined the swim team?"

"What does it matter to you? Look just tell me which lane we can use."

He grimaced before pointing to the very last lane, which was currently empty.

"Thank you. We'll talk after." She responded, walking away back to her team.

"Sure."

"Who was that?"

Rin turned around to see Sousuke standing behind him. A damp towel hung around his neck, dripping small droplets of water on to the already wet floor.

"I'm not even sure anymore." The redhead responded, "Iwatobi girl's captain."

"Iwatobi has a girl's team?"

Rin shrugged, turning away before being held back by Sousuke. He wanted to tell Rin that he had seen her face in physical therapy, but he couldn't tell him what he was doing there. Instead, he let out a sigh and nodded.

* * *

Meanwhile, Yuki took a deep breath. She felt panicky. She had to remember why she was there.

Wait.

Why was she there?

To beat Rin. Of course. That's what she decided when he blatantly walked past her on the train.

How would she beat him?

Yuki froze. She had never given it much thought past 'join swim club.' Her swimming could never compete with his- not even when they swam together in Sydney. How was she supposed to beat Rin?

Her breathing accelerated rapidly, her legs feeling weak, Yuki threw herself onto the bench to sit for a minute.

Why did she think this was a good idea? Yuki was smart enough to know that this wouldn't have worked.

What possessed her to continue?

So she could get a chance to see Rin again. But she blew it. Killed it. Beat it with a sledgehammer and the shat on it on taco Tuesday. There was no way she could face him after this realization.

Was the reason she was unhappy to see Rin was not only because he neglected their friendship...

...but because she was jealous of the life he had made for himself here?

Yuki needed air, and she needed it quickly. She managed to force a quick excuse to Isaka before running out of the hall. The smell of chlorine was like acid to her nostrils. She only just made it outside of the school, before pulling over by a bush and emptying all the despair (and her breakfast).

At that moment she realized the depth of her selfishness. She was willing to use whatever she could to get revenge on somebody's happiness.

* * *

Indoors, the girls began racing, although they had to squeeze into one lane. Physically, Mei should have been the strongest swimmer, however she was trumped in speed by Isaka. Kotoko was delightfully average at swimming- neither a prodigy nor a failure. It seemed that Kotoko got on very well with Nitori, a Samezuka student. They chatted by the side of the pool and Isaka and Mei occasionally heard a laugh from their direction. Isaka noticed the upperclassmen cringe whenever she looked in their direction.

Makoto turned his head to see Haruka standing by his side. The brunette smiled, whereas Haru stayed stoic as ever. Even with their fingers inconspicuously interlocked, Haru seemed more interested in watching the swimming. When Mei climbed out of the pool, and went towards them, they instinctively pulled apart.

"Takara! How are you finding the pool?"

"It's very nice. This is a pretty elite school afterall."

"I wouldn't really say that." Rin called over, eavesdropping on their conversation, "Matsuoka Rin, hey."

"Takara Mei. Are you this 'Rin-chan' I've been hearing so much about?" She responded, giving him a quick handshake.

"Depends who you heard it from." He laughed and looked over the pool.

Kotoko had pulled away from Nitori to swim another race with Isaka, they really seemed like they were enjoying themselves. Although Mei wouldn't care to admit it, she was having fun too. Even with Yuki MIA, which was a little worrying for most everyone on the girl's team, Isaka assured them she was most likely tending to her previously hurt knee or something.

"Would you know where Hashimoto is?" Mei asked, wringing her short hair out a little bit, "As much as we have our differences... She is the one who dragged us here."

"No idea." Makoto answered.

"I'm just gonna go look outside a minute." Rin suggested, pulling his swim cap off.

"Don't bother, I'll go." The girl said, "Although I presume you know each other, it seems a little... tense."

Rin just sighed and sat himself on the bench.

"You know her?" Haru inquired.

"I don't know anymore."

* * *

 **(A/N WOAH I UPLOADED TWICE IN THE SAME WEEK HOLY SHIT GUESS WHOS BACK IN ACTION BABY**

 **yeah uh i realized the first few chapters are a little... wishy-washy so i'll be doing a re-write of them... soonish)**


	7. Chapter 7

Yuki sat on the grass outside of the swimming hall. For the first time during her time in Japan she actually felt something other than lost- except this was much worse.

By the time Mei had found her, Yuki was already an anxious mess. She hesitated a moment, listening to faint sobs from afar. After a minute of this, she finally pulled forward, slowly kneeling down beside her.

"Takara," Mei stated, sounding slightly less apathetic than usual, "Why are you crying?"

"I'm not."

"Yes you are."

"Fuck off. Mind your own business."

Mei sighed softly, staring irritably into space before mustering up another response.

"Look, you really don't seem alright. I know we're not exactly the bestest of friends but if you want, I'll be your confidant."

Yuki looked up at her, a confused expression crossed her face.

"Are you okay?"

* * *

"Oh my god! Yuki! Are you okay?"

Yuki's eyes fluttered open to see her mother kneeling by her bed and clasping onto her hand. Her father had shifted towards the hospital bed as well, an expression of worry masked his usually bright smile.

"I'm gonna be late for modern." The girl managed to squeeze out.

"Oh no, honey." Her father explained sadly, "You won't be doing anything for the next while..."

"What?"

Her mum bit her lip softly.

"You're hurt, Yuki. But once you recover maybe you can..."

"Mari, the doctor said-"

"How long will it take?" Yuki interrupted.

"I don't know, honey. The doctor said it could range from weeks to months."

"Months?!" She cried, "No. No! I can't afford to lose that much time! The presentation is in three weeks, it's my big break! Mrs. Li... She said... She..."

"Yuki." Her father turned away, "You're gonna have to go through months of physical therapy. Even so, before the accident, you had awful knee pain at times. It's not uncommon for ballerinas, honey."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm not saying anything. It could... just be dangerous for you to keep pushing yourself so much."

Yuki shook her head in denial. She felt awfully dizzy, from the mild concussion and from the troubling news.

"I might as well quit."

"Don't say that, Yuki!"

She clenched her fist underneath the thin blanket.

"By the time I'm back, I'll be so out of practice that I won't be able to perform for another while." She spluttered, "So, that's it. I might as well quit. You might as well take that job in Japan."

"Yuki Hashimoto, you are speaking out of your ass! You're just in shock." Her mum raised her usually calm voice at her daughter, "We'll talk about options later. Now just focus on getting better."

* * *

"I see. So you quit ballet and moved here after the accident?"

Yuki nodded and wiped her nose with the back of her sleeve. She had just explained most of why she was sitting there to her newfound frenemy. The air between them moved from tense to more trusting.

"That's why you have the random doctor's appointments and therapy sessions, right?"

"Yeah..."

Mei re-positioned herself to face the swimming hall.

"You really gave up a lot."

"I left behind everything I knew and everything that made me who I am, to come here and be in denial of my own purpose." She explained.

"You started grasping at straws."

Yuki nodded.

"I'd do anything that would make me feel like I was here for a reason... Literally, anything. I've only just realized that now."

"Is that why we're here?" Mei asked, "You wanted to prove something against Rin, but-"

"But I realized that that was a fucking idiotic idea. Part of me... Part-"

Mei turned her head to her and looked her straight in the eyes.

"Part of me just wanted to see someone that I knew and who knew me. But I fucking blew it. I was an asshole to him and now I doubt he wants anything to do with me."

"You're overreacting. You haven't... fucked up that bad."

"He means a lot to me."

A silence crossed between the two. A faint cheer sang from the building.

"Man," Yuki laughed quietly, changing the subject for a second, "I've told you my biggest secrets and to think half an hour ago I hated you."

Mei smiled. It was great to see a smidgen of trust be given to her, seeing as they did not see eye to eye on most things. Although Mei doubted they would ever be close friends, at least they could work with each other.

"You're not that bad, Yuki. I'm sorry for being so harsh, it wasn't fair of me to be a prick after all you're going through."

"It's alright, I appreciate you hearing me out." Yuki added, "Seriously, thanks."

"See, you seem different now." Mei conspired, "Whenever we talked in class, you always seemed so uptight."

Yuki sighed and shrugged.

"You weren't exactly welcoming either."

"I can't argue with that."

They both chuckled gently. Another faint cheer could be heard.

"Do you have family back in Australia?"

"Yeah. Most of my dad's side lives there. He's half Australian, half Japanese- like my mother. They both went to a bilingual japanese school there." Yuki explained, "What about your family?"

"Both my parents are from the region." Mei responded with a polite smile, "So you and Rin went to the same school in Sydney?"

"Yeah, for a few years. He didn't speak much English so I sometimes translated for him." She laughed, "We had fun together. But when he left, he dropped contact with me. It hurt a lot."

"How awful."

"Yeah, but I can't bring myself to talk with him about it. Not after how awkward I've made it."

They both sighed.

"Are you ready to go back in?"

"Yeah, let's go."

Yuki accepted Mei's hand in helping her up and they both walked back to the entrance.

* * *

"There you guys are!" Kotoko exclaimed from the poolside.

Yuki and Mei walked side by side towards her.

Isaka watched from a distance; a stab of jealousy plagued her.

"So are we gonna swim or not?" Yuki asked with a smile.

"Of course. I'll race you, Kotoko." The black haired girl smirked and she pulled on the swimming goggles she had fastened to her wrist.

After apologizing to the Iwatobi boys for her sudden disappearance, Yuki walked over to Isaka and sat by her on the bench.

"I'm sorry for being so distant, I really appreciate your friendship." Yuki apologized, "I'm just dealing with some things now, it's not fair of me to take this out on you."

"Its okay, Yuki. Just... you can come to me when you need me. Don't just cast me away."

"I know, Isa. I'm so sorry. I'll explain things some time, but now let's race, huh?"

Isaka flung her arms around Yuki and smiled.

"Let's race."

 **(A/N: So now this part of the story is slooowly coming to an end, next chapter *should* be the last bit. DW the story isn't ending, this yuki angst 'arc' thingy is just almost done.**

 **next part will focus more on yuki and rin ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) however after the next chapter there will possibly be a delay till the new content, stay tuned folks)**


	8. IMPORTANT UPDATE

YO! Author here with a quick update!

I started writing this story way back in early 2015, where my writing 'skills' were more than…lacking. Not to mention the horribly developed characters and other flaws etc etc.

Recently, I thought about abandoning the whole story itself- but in all honesty, I don't really want to do that! I've been coming up with this story since late 2014 so it's reasonable to say that it's taken a certain place in my heart.

But let me be honest; I'm incredibly unimpressed with the current chapters. It feels rushed and just… strange. I believe I can do a better job that this! (Or not, we'll see.)

SO LONG STORY SHORT, I'm going to rewrite this whole thing. Yup. All of it. Slowly, chapter by chapter. Will it take me long? Probably. But I'm confident that it'll suck a little less. I'm gonna keep this story up until I've published a few chapters of the new one, then I'll think about whether or not I want to keep this one up here to remind me of my weeaboo tendencies.

I'm a good halfway through the rewrite of the first chapter, so I'll kick myself in the ass to upload it sometime this or next month. I'm already much happier with this draft. I'm sorry to string you guys along like this! If you want, I'll finish this arc before publishing the first chapter of the rewrite. Let me know!

I hope you continue to enjoy reading this story as much as I enjoy writing it.

-littledance


End file.
